Ornamental illuminating device



Aug. 27, 1963 G. A. ORE ILLY ORNAMENTAL ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed June12, 1961 INVENTOR. 61 1/30/21 A, O'QE/ZLY wwgw United States Patent M3,101,907 ORNAMENTAL ILLUMINATING DEVICE Gabriel A. OReilly, 3204 NW.24th St., Oklahoma City, Okla. Filed June 12, 1961, Ser. No. 116,384 1Claim. (Cl. 240-) This invention relates to a decorative device which,in addition to its ornamental and aesthetic properties, possessesutility as an illuminating device.

During the evening hours of the day, it is often desirable to provideillumination of various outdoor objects so that their beauty may beappreciated despite the darkness. For example, floodlighting of newbuildings of attractive architecture is frequently accomplished by 10-cating a suitable source of light at ground level and directing thelight emanating from such source over a substantial area of thebuilding. In an effort to hide the unsightly flood lamp or other sourceof illumination from view, such lamps areoften placed in or behindshrubbery planted around the base of the building. In any event, caremust be taken to shield the light source in a manner to prevent thesource from being directly viewed by an observer, since such flood lampsand the like are usually quite powerful and a blinding eflect wouldresult from failure to properly channel the light.

Another instance where outdoor illumination is frequently used duringthe evening is the use of flood lights, vertically supported lamps, andthe like for illuminating the lawns and shrubbery around homes andresidences. With the increasing popularity of cook-outs, garden partiesand similar occasions, the employment of outdoor lighting aroundresidences has also increased. In most instances of which I am aware,however, the types of lighting which have previously been used have hadthe disadvantage of producing direct lighting to an undesirable degree.Either the light bulb source of light itself is visible to observers, orelse the glare therefrom is so intense as to discourage one from lookingin the direction of the light source.

The present invention contemplates a novel lighting device which isconstructed to present to a viewer on one side thereof an interestingand highly decorative figurine or efligy while simultaneously providingillumination of objects on the other side thereof. The device may thusbe used to illuminate shrubbery, buildings or other objects without theneed to place the device in an obscure or hidden location. In fact, theornamental effect which may be obtained in displaying the noveldecorative figurine is in itself such that even when the illumination ofa particular object is not a particularly important consideration, theutility of the device for ornamentation and decoration alone makes itsemployment desirable.

In the construction of the invention, the decorative figurine or efligyconsists of two portions-a first plate constructed of a translucent, yetlight-reflective material, and a larger plate which is located inspaced, parallel position with respect to the first plate. The secondplate is provided with an aperture which is aligned with the first plateso that light from a source positioned on the opposite side of thesecond plate from the first plate may pass through the aperture,illuminate the first plate, and be reflected from the first plate backonto the second plate. By properly shielding the light source,illumination of the second plate may be limited to illumination byreflected light whereas the light rays emanating away from the lightsource in a direction normal to the second plate may be used toilluminate adjacent objects such as buildings, shrubbery, walkways, etc.

I have found that novel and highly ornamental effects can be obtainedwhen a composite figurine or efligy comprised of the two spaced,parallel plates is illuminated 3,101,907 Patented Aug. 27, 1963 in themanner described. For example, let it be assumed that the device is tobe formed as a sunflower. The smaller first plate can be made circularin form (as a flat disc) and the desired translucent and reflectiveproperties may be obtained by using a suitable colored plastic materialof construction, such as plexiglass. In the case of the sunflowerdesign, the circular first plate is to represent the stamen and pistilcentral portion of the sunflower and will thus be colored brown orblack. The larger second plate will be generally circular inconfiguration and will be scalloped around its outer edge to representthe petals of the sun-flower. Of course, the second plate will be yellowand may also be constructed of a colored plastic.

The novelty of appearance of figurines constructed in the describedmanner resides in a three-dimensional elfect which is obtained by virtueof the soft, even, reflective illumination of the second plate. Thus, inthe sunflower embodiment, the dark central portion of the flower seemsto stand out and the petals surrounding the central portion areilluminated with a soft, reflected light which is distributed evenlythereover. When the sunflower device is placed adjacent shrubbery andbetween the shrubbery and an observer, the view of the sunflower againstthe background of the softly illuminated shrubbery is particularlystriking and highly ornamental. It will readily be understood, ofcourse, that with a very slight alteration in the type of light sourceused, the same design may be placed in the flower bed at the foot of abuilding and the architectural features of the building clearlyilluminated by a light which is shielded from direct view by theinterposed sunflower figurine. Moreover, any number of designs offigurines and efiigies may be conceived which will utilize to goodadvantage the three-dimensional, reflective lighting obtained.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a major \objectof the present invention is to provide an ornamental figurine or elfigywhich functions dually as an illuminating device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a decorative figurinewhich creates a three-dimensional impression in those viewing thefigurine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a source of illuminationwhich is characterized in having the light source shielded in anaesthetic manner from the sight of one viewing the object illuminated.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading thefollowing disclosure in conjunction with a perusal of the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate my invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a View in elevation of a preferred embodiment of theornamental illuminating device of the present invention as it appears toan observer of the object illuminated.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the ornamental illuminatingdevice shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating the manner in which the devicemay be used to illuminate shnubbery.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to FIG. 1, afirst plate 10 which is constructed of a translucent but yetlight-reflective material, such as colored plastic, is disposed closestto the observer of the object to be illuminated. A second plate 12 whichis of substantially larger area than the first plate 10 is extendedparallel to the first plate and is spaced therefnom by suitable spacingmeans 14. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spacing means14 comprises a plurality of internally threaded sleeves 16 which areconstructed of the same plastic material as the plate 10 and secured 3at spaced intervals to the back of the plate 10. Threaded bolts 18 arepassed through the second plate 12 and are threaded into the sleeves 16,and suitable nuts 20 are used to retain the plates 10 and 12 in theirassembled relation as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In order to permit light to pass through the second plate 12 and impingeupon the first plate 10, the second plate is apertured as indicated byreference character 22. The aperture 22 is located directly opposite thefirst plate 10 and is of smaller areal size than the first plate so thatthe aperture will ordinarily be obscured from the vision of an observer24 standing some distance from the device as shown in FIG. 3.

A send-cylindrical or generally U-shaped light shield 26 which isconstructed of sheet metal or other suitable material is positionedaround the aperture 22 on the opposite side of the second plate 12 fromthe first plate 10. The light shield 26 is attached to second plate 12by any suitable means, such as by the use of the bolts 18 as shown inFIG. 2. A tubular metallic sleeve member 28 is bolted to the same sideof the second plate 12 as the light shield 26 by bolts 30 and extendsvertically downward from the lower edge of the second plate. A resilientclip or bracket 32 is placed through aligned apertures in the top of thesleeve member '28 and projects outwardly from the second plate 12 in adirection normal thereto. The clip 32 is generalily circular inconfiguration so that a light bulb socket 34 may be resiliently retainedtherein. It will also be noted that the lower edge of the shield 26 ispositioned closely adjacent the clip 32 so that a light bulb 36 carriedby the socket 34 is shielded to prevent direct illumination of thesecond plate 12 although light is permitted to pass outwardly from thelight bulb in a direction substantially normal to the second plate.

In use, the ornamental lighting device of the invention is positionedadjacent an object to be illuminated, such as shrubbery 38 with thefront plate 10 facing an observer 24 and the open end of the lightshield 26 toward the shnubbe-ry. A rod 40 is pushed into the ground 42in a substantially vertical position and the sleeve 28 is telescopedover the upper end of the rod until the end of the rod abuts thelowermost bolt 30.

With the ornamental illuminating device so positioned, observers who arepassing by the shrubbery 38 or other illuminated object do not directlyview the source of light, such as the light bulb 36, but instead,observe only the novel ornamental efiigy or figurine composed of thefirst and second plates 10 and 12. The figurine or effigy is illuminatedin such a way that a three dimensional effect is obtained addingconsiderable realism to the effigy. At the same time, the object behindthe ornamental illuminating device is adequately illuminated to fullyreveal its aesthetic properties.

I attribute the novel three dimensional effect obtained with myinvention in large part to the illumination of the second or back plate12 solely with reflected light as opposed to the illumination of thefront plate 10 with direct light. The combination in the presentinvention of the novel ornamentally lighted figurine with the objectilluminating feature of the device has proven to be especiallyattractive for use in illuminating garden walks and lawns during outdooroutings.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arnangement of the components Without adeparture from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth inthe appended claim.

I claim:

An ornamental illuminating device comprising a com.- posite ornamentalefiigy including:

(a) .a first plate constructed of a translucent, lightreflectivematerial;

(1)) a second plate of larger area than said first plate and having acentrally located aperture of smaller areal size than said first plateextending therethrough;

(c) spacer means between said first and second plates for retaining saidplates in spaced, parallel relation;

(d) an elongated supporting member having first and second ends andattached to said second plate at one of said ends and sharpened to apoint at its other end to facilitate supporting the effigy verticallyover the ground;

(e) a resilient bracket attached to one end of said elongated member;

(1) an electric light bulb detachably engaged by said resilient bracketand positioned opposite said aperture on the opposite side of saidsecond plate from said first plate; and

(g) a generally U-shaped light shield having open first and second endsand secured to said second plate around said centrally located aperturewith the open first end of said shield aligned with said centrallylocated aperture in said second plate and the open second end of saidlight shield aligned with said open first end and said centrally locatedaperture, said light shield partially surrounding said light bulb anddirecting light from said bulb through said aperture in said secondplate for preventing direct illumination of said second plate andfurther directing light through the open second end of said shield todirectly illuminate the vicinity adjacent said device on the oppositeside of said second plate from said first plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,086,534 Ives Feb. 10, 1914 2,153,395 Sadacca Apr. 4, 1939 2,296,746Snyder et'al. Sept. 22, 1942 2,321,872 SZalla June 15, 1943 2,673,286Moore Mar. 23, 1954

